Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Background

While listening to the about 7 minutes or so of talking-free Holosync of the demo CD, I did experience some changes in the qualitative experience of my own mind.  While not earth shattering, they were enough to prompt my curiosity.

My plan is simple.  I will follow the program instructions as directed and see if the promised benefits follow.  In either event I will report the results.  If the promised benefits really do manifest, I will consider it worth my money.  If they do not, I will have no problem asking for a full and complete refund of my money.

Specifically in the letter enclosed with the demo Bill Harris says and I quote directly from pages 15 and 16:

“In conclusion, let me summarize the many real advantages of participating in The Holosync Solution:

*          Super-deep meditation, literally at the touch of a button…

*          Improved mental abilities, heightened creativity and problem solving ability…

*          Dramatic reduction in stress and anxiety…

*          Improved health and a new sense of mental, emotional, and physical well-being…

*          Increased focus, concentration, memory, and learning ability…

*          Increased motivation and confidence…

*          Production in the brain of many vital neurochemicals proven to slow aging…

            and keep the body young, alive and fully functioning…

*          Better more restful sleep…

*          More happiness and flow in your life…

*          Healing of unresolved mental and emotional blocks…

And, if it doesn't do all of this for you, just send it back within one year for a full refund!

            So let The Holosync Solution be the new beginning you've been searching for.

            I eagerly look forward to having you in the program.”

While a 1 person study is in no way generalizable, it is still an additional point of data for those pondering whether or not to try the system.  I think the two biggest confounds in my particular case will be my current level of (generally) functioning quite well in the mental and psychological domains (as indicated by IQ, MMPI, SCT, and personal subjective assessment of general life satisfaction), and my continuation of other transformative practices (some physical exercise, Big Mind, and zazen meditation).  I could see these confounds possibly influencing my personal experiment in at least two different ways.  It could be that, due to other practices, I show year over year improvement in the domains mentioned above, but not as a direct result of the Holosync program.  It could also be that the Holosync program will have little effect on me with its 'introductory dosing' (i.e. it would take a higher level of the program to produce notable effects in me at this time).  All that being said, while I would guess that I am a significant outlier from the general 'normal' population at large, I would venture to say that I am probably much closer to 'normal' in the context of Zaadz.

I personally have no financial interests involved and have no axe to grind one way or another.  I am hopeful that my time spent on this experiment will yield positive results, but not so much so as to really create an expectancy bias.  I am also well aware of such mental deceptions as attempting to minimize cognitive dissonance etc.  I am equally open to experiencing no effects, effects too small to consider different from normal growth, notable positive results, notable negative results, or completely unexpected results.

In any event, I will try to post how things are going about every month or two for the next 10 or so months.  If any other people are just starting the program at this time I would encourage them to also do likewise so that we will have a little more data about how such a technology might or might not be beneficial as a part of an ongoing ILP for persons (presumably) in the 'second tier' range.

Mark

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

9/26/2007  Received Awakening Prologue

Received Awakening Prologue on this date.  This evening was my first use of the the Dive track.  I definitely noticed something happen.  I really experienced a change in the qualitative feel of my own mental space.  I felt a little 'off' or 'spaced out' after this first use.

Mark

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

10/05/2007 Update



This is the 10th day since I received Awakening Prologue. I have used the Dive track every day but 1 since I first received the CD in the mail. I have done my listening consistently in the evening, usually right before bed. There is definitely a strong 'push' still present. I have experienced a range of different effects. I had an awkward feeling in my right ear for the first 2-4 days. I did experience a few muscle twitches on about day 6. On one occasion I almost nodded off several times while listening to the track despite the fact that I was not excessively tired beforehand. Some of the times when I listen my mind is almost completely blank, devoid of symbolic thought. At other times there is a ton of mental chatter, far more than is normal for me at other times of day let alone while in a relaxed meditative state. I am curious as to what will happen when I step up to the Dive + Immersion level in few days. As far as I am aware, I have not really noticed any remarkable changes in any of my quadrants so far. I will probably update next after the first day or two of the Dive + Immersion. After that, I will probably update less frequently (maybe every few weeks or so).



Mark

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

10/08/2007 Update

Last night (10/08) I really had an interesting experience with Awakening Prologue track 1.  While I am still just finishing up my first 2 weeks with the program this was, I think, interesting enough to report on.  Probably about 15-20 minutes into the track I started feeling into the feeling of emptiness and experienced a very(!) pronounced rush of endorphins and a dropping into what felt like a subtle level experience.  While my primary intention in taking up a program like Holosync is to create more lasting positive changes, I will be quite happy to have experiences like last night as a part of the on-going journey.  I will try my best not to get caught up in expectations about what should or should not be going on for me, but if someone were regularly having these experiences I could see why they would be motivated to stick with the program.  If there really are a dozen qualitatively deeper levels in the program, well that is something that seems pretty impressive at this point.

On a side note, I have recently become aware of a similar program called Perfect Meditation that purports to be stronger/deeper.  I have to admit this has sparked my curiosity and it is something I will likely check out in the future.  For now though, I am going to keep doing Awakening Prologue as directed in the program and see where it gets me in a few months.

Mark

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Mark,

Please don't change the name of the thread!

Otherwise a great thread :)


Pelle

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Mark,
I started dive /immersion on sunday after 2 wks of dive only. Several times in the last week I have awakened between 4 and 5 am ,drank a cup of coffee, sat with holosync and then gone back to bed for an hour. This is new and feels quite remarkable( I normally cannot sleep on coffee). I have also had some amazing dreams in the last 2 weeks. Someone close to me says there is a marked improvement in my “at peace quotient”. 
Christian 

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Mark

This is really interesting - prompting me to consider keeping my own journal, I've left it quite vague and open so far as to the analysis (or not) of my own h/s experiences, relying on a general sense that 'something' is happening.

What I've experienced so far then in retrospect is:

-lots of vivid and retained dreams
-an immediate understanding of the mesage of those dreams
-less need for sleep but a better quality of sleep
-although I did have one night of very disturbed sleep after h/s-ing right before sleeping
-a couple of sessions of utter agitation where my legs would not keep still and I wanted to scream and throw the headphones across the room
-a regular supply of 'blissy' sessions with more frequently the effect of 'it' not simply disappearing as soon as I become aware of 'it'
-a big reduction in stress responses
- a recently noticed reduction in anger whilst driving
-an increase in 'alternative' (for want of a better word) experiences (although this may be down to a number of factors such as reiki 3 attunement, various activities on the Women's ILP week etc. as you note too)
- I now 'get' turquoise in a felt sense rather than as a cognitive construct

So pretty impressive now that I look at it this way, after 5 months.

Thanks for the nudge to be more reflective on this

Juliee

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Hi Everybody,

Mark and Juliee, it's really refreshing to hear of your experiences.  I'm currently on PL4, CD2 and your comments remind me of just a few years ago.  I didn't keep a journal (as the program asked for it) but I can say that you words resonated with me.

Enjoy the program for however long you feel is right .  Whatever path you choose will be the right one. I haven't regretted a moment yet, whether is was due to HS or the materials that I've read that had taken me to other paths, ….

Have a great one,

Nomaders

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Update through 10/15/2007


Ok it has been about 3 weeks since I first started doing Holosync every night (have only missed 1 day so far). I have moved up from the 30 min. Awakening Prologue Dive track to the 60 min. Dive + Immersion. There is definitely a notable 'push' present with the program. I have found myself almost nodding off during the Immersion portion several times. I have had one very interesting experience since my last update I will try to describe it as best I can:

I was resting in an extremely peaceful state during the Immersion portion one night and I decided to try an experiment. I decided that I would try to consciously enter a whole series of 'intense' and 'difficult' emotional/affective states while resting in the peaceful awareness I was already in. (I got the idea from the Non-Dual Buddhist notion that if one enters the 3 poisons consciously they will transmute into their corresponding virtues as well as Bill's notion that one is not in suffering once one is fully conscious during an event.) So I started going into anger, frustration, deep sadness, anxiety, etc. fully conscious and while simultaneously resting in the spacious awareness I was already in. When they started arising, there was a massive surge of energy, feeling, and intensity. It is really kind of tricky to kind of convey the experience in words. It was as if the emotions emerged as solid things that started sublimating. One moment they were solid tangible things with real weight and solidity and then just a second later they were merely wisps as light as air. Every intense emotion (both 'positive' and 'negative') I could think of I tried to consciously enter and they all started melting. I started trying to think of whatever I could that might be lurking in my shadow from 'sacred' to 'profane' from 'special' to 'ordinary.' Every one was the same. At first they seemed a solid and real entity arising in awareness and after but a second of focused awareness they vaporized into a light felt entity that was only different from the background awareness in the most vague and subtle of ways. I really do not think I can put into words the sheer intensity of the experience as experience by 'me.' Every time one of these ideas melted it felt like massive electrical shocks were shooting through my body and out through the top of my head. It was something like a combination of being electrocuted, having a massive on-going orgasm, and feeling a heavy weight lift from my shoulders. As 'neat' as this experience was, what was really 'interesting' was that the unmoved Witness just continued to watch the whole affair with dispassion… weird considering that this was certainly one of the more intense experiences of Mark's whole life.

Yea… so that was a 'big experience.' Since then my Holosync sessions have been a weird combination of random thoughts coming up even in what is obviously the depths of the Immersion portion alternating with periods of very(!) quiet/light/empty mind. I am definitely going to continue on with the current experiment, but even at times when I am doing my best to be 'okay' with what is coming up there are still a series of judgments about what 'should' be happing so sometimes I am just being 'okay' with trying to judge the experience. I think it may be part of my conceptual self thinking that all of the experiences should be of a certain type or similar in some way. Or it could be my grasping mind trying to hang onto the 'fun' or 'exciting' experiences and avoid the 'boring' or 'incorrect' ones. I will have to do some thinking on this.

On another note, my personal experience of my daily regular mediation (zazen) seems very different at this point than the Holosync experiences, but it seems to be notably deepening in its own way since the start of my Holosync experiment.

Also, again this is just my one-person account it is in no way generalizable and may or may not resemble the experiences of others with this program. Please read 'wow' type comments with the knowledge that this is also occurring in the context of an overall ILP in which other transformative practices are on-going as well.

Mark

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Wow, sounds like an amazing experience.
Thanks for sharing.

Pelle

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Hi Mark

That sounds very interesting.

I was wondering what effects if any (in such a short space of time) this has had on your 'external' experience of the 'melted' emotions etc.?

Juliee

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Yep thanks Mark, that's extremely interesting. 

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Update through 1/29/2008

It has been 125 days since I first did Holosync and in that time I would estimate that I have only skipped doing it about 5 days in total. While there have been a few instances in which I have repeated the Immersion track for a 90 min. session and in the first 2 weeks I only did the 30 min Dive track; I have usually done 60 min. per day just before bed. I consider this update to be my 4 month data point.

As noted several times previous, this on-going trial of Holosync is occurring in the context of an overall Integral Life Practice (ILP). I have continued with regular exercise, traditional Zen sitting, and Big Mind practice (self-facilitated, following along with the DVDs, and through clips on Zen-Eye.org). My frequency of physical exercise is generally daily. I alternate free-weights (FIT) with some cardio on off days. My traditional Zen sitting has been more sporadic. I am unsure if this is due to my busy schedule or the addition of the Holosync. When I do sit traditionally, I really get into the ‘just sitting’ / Non-Seeking Mind easily and just sit. I do Big Mind every few days and find that I can easily make the shifts w/o dropping out of the voice or having other voices intrude (well most times anyway).

As for the effects that generally occur during the actual Holosync session, they are much the same as noted before. Sometimes I still fall asleep toward the tail end of the Immersion track. Sometimes my mind is absolutely serene and clear like during a calm sitting. Other times my mind is considerably more turbulent and active than is usually the case either in meditation or just in regular waking activity. Every once and a while I have really ‘interesting’ experiences and yet at other times I am somewhat bored. Other than a correlation between my feeling tired and my likelihood of falling asleep; I do not readily see any patterns that appear to predict these experiences.

In my daily life I am really settling into a very different way of being. For significant periods of time during the day symbolic thought is dropped out (i.e. no words or commentary running, just what-is). Often I find myself momentarily shifting into flow or unitive states during the day. This most often occurs at school, but it also happens while driving, while at work, etc. While I have experienced glimpses of these states on and off since my Big Mind opening in late 2006, they are now quite frequent and in a way just ‘normal.’ The changes have been gradual, but in making a retroactive comparison they are notable. Again, I do not know if this can be fully attributed to the introduction of Holosync as some of the changes began beforehand. Still, I am fairly confident at this point that the regular use of Holosync has at least sped up this process for me.

I am curious about the future. While I feel pretty good with my sense of self as it presently is (I can often easily shift between the Witness and the Ego as situation dictates), I am wondering what the future might hold. I am aware that Holosync has at least 12 more levels of depth and I must say if the change continues to progress at the same rate it has I am not entirely sure what I might look like at the end of this journey. If I had to hazard a guess, I would bet that the unitive flashes probably become more the normal sense of identity and that the witnessing capability probably gets clearer and more generalized… but this is only a guess on my part.

I think I will still give at least one or two of the competing entrainment/meditation programs a try and see how they compare. That being said, I think that it is very likely that I will be continuing on with one of them for some time to come.

Mark

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Wow, Mark! You're quite persistent with your training. That's an excellent summary of your experiences.

In regards to your original intent of testing Holosync to see if you'd want your money back, how do you stand? You're doing so many other practices that I think you'd have a hard time segregating results as from this source or the other.

Re: Mark's ongoing trial of Holosync (periodically updated)

Mark,

Excellent going!

I've been dropping 2.5 Hz carrier frequency instead of the 20hz or so during Holosync.  For example, last week I was at Awakening Level 1 with a carrier of 120. I felt ready for the next level and am now at 117.5 Hz carrier.

Best,

Padma Norbu